Capaha rose garden proud of test garden status

The Council of Garden Clubs, made up of the Four Seasons Garden Club, Ramblewood Garden Club and Rose Hills Garden Club, was recently selected to participate in the All-American Rose Selections Inc. test gardens on a probationary basis.

Organized in 1955 and federated in 1956, one of the Council of Garden Clubs' objectives is working toward the beauty of Cape Girardeau by stimulating a knowledge and love of gardening among amateurs; to aid in the protection of nature, trees, plants and birds and to encourage planting.

The test garden is in Capaha Park, bordering Perry Avenue, and is know to many as "The Capaha Rose Garden." An azalea garden and butterfly garden are just outside the fenced rose garden.

AARS Inc. sent 60 new rosebushes that were planted at the Capaha rose garden recently under conditions that would set them up for success.

A Rose Garden Foundation was organized a few years ago to improve conditions and concentrate specifically on the rose garden.

"I looked in the Farmer's Almanac, and it was a good transplanting day," said Nancy Bahn, chairman of the Rose Garden Foundation. "One member brought up replant disease, and to avoid that we dug out the holes and replanted with fresh dirt. Originally, when the rose garden was first started, it was an AARS test garden. I thought we might have a good chance to be selected with that history, so we pursued it."

The 60 new rosebushes include three categories: a hybrid tea, floribunda and landscape rose. They are numbered but not named. Bahn said all test gardens get the same roses. The winner will be announced in 2009.

Students from Cape Career and Technology Center volunteered at the Capaha rose garden on Park Day to remove old mulch, dig holes, plant and fertilize, water and transplant roses.

"Working in the rose garden is good practical application of the things students learned in class and an opportunity for them to do community service," the students' horticulture instructor, Harry Bertrand, said.

Rose Garden Foundation board member Barbara Blanchard said "It's an honor to be chosen as a test garden and since roses take a lot of care, I believe young people establishing their gardens will want to come out and see what grows well."

Standard requirements for test gardens include sufficient space, adequate soil preparation, irrigation, sun and specific care including dusting or spraying, pruning, winter protection, mulch and placement in an area free from tree and shrub roots.

AARS Inc. is a not-for-profit research corporation whose function since 1938 has been to test new rose varieties and determine which, if any, can be recommended to the rose-buying public as varieties of top quality. In official test gardens and demonstration gardens nationwide, new rose hybrids are evaluated for two years. Included in the evaluation are characteristics like vigor, fragrance, disease resistance, foliage, flower production.

AARS operates a nationwide network of 20 official test gardens, representing all climate zones. Rose varieties in these trials receive only as much care as your average home gardener would likely give. To ensure that AARS are natural top performers, AARS members recently voted to remove fungicidal spraying from the testing process.

Test garden scores, important in the selection of each year's winners, are submitted in serial numbers by the judge of that garden.

"Reporting on them is kind of a fun thing. We pledged to take very good care of them and someone has to be out there every week," Blanchard said.

Blanchard believes the garden is an asset to the community and has observed that visitors to the garden over the years include people from out of state, people on their lunch break wanting some peaceful time and couples choosing to be married there.

cpagano@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 133

Does this affect you?

Have a comment?

Log on to semissourian.com/today